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Newman can escape the 'leader killing season'

Gerard Paynter

Campbell Newman can come out of a turbulent month in November relatively unscathed, but Gerard Paynter argues he must first deliver on promises.

Opinion

It is impossible to deny that we have been through November horribilis for the State Government with ministers resigning and three members moving acrimoniously to the cross benches.

In the wider community this time of year is called the festive season. In politics it is often called the silly season and in Canberra in the past, it has been tagged “the Leader killing season”.

It’s been an awkward period for the Queensland Government, however all Ministers and backbenchers should print off a poster to stick it on their wall and it should say something like: “We’re the Can Do Team and we’re doing it”.

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At its core, this government said it would do lot of very good things and that has to be its focus.

It’s not the policies that have caused these dramas; it’s a new government learning some very old political rules…the hard way.

It’s also one of the natural outcomes of merging two different political parties and scores of different personalities into one successful team.

If we look at the history of new governments, early difficulties are common.

When John Howard’s Coalition team first came to government, three ministers and some staff lost their positions in the first 18 months in regards to share ownership and travel expenses. The Howard government stabilised and went on to become the second-longest Australian Government under a single Prime Minister, despite a very difficult time in its initial two years.

If you look at the Hawke government there was the controversy around David Combe and his dealings with a Soviet diplomat.

In more recent times for the NSW O’Farrell Government it was decisions in relation to solar panels.

People forget that in the early years of the Beattie government it was embroiled in the controversy of the Shepherdson inquiry. As a result of this inquiry three sitting Labor MPs lost their jobs, not because of disagreements with the party but because of alleged electoral fraud.

Beattie went on to govern for almost 10 years before handing over to his anointed successor, Anna Bligh.

It is impossible to ignore that with a group of more than 70 elected members in a parliament of 89 at some point there will be personality clashes and conflicting agendas.

But at the core of the Newman government what is being undertaken is a large number of very necessary reforms. These reforms are being executed with gusto and drive which will ensure that they will not just be “planned for” or “spoken about”, but are actually being implemented. The benefits of these reforms are flowing, and will continue to flow, onto Queensland residents and businesses.

These reforms include:

The whole-of-government ICT audit to determine exactly what IT assets the QueenslandGovernment has and in which departments, to identify potential efficiencies.

A 30 year water plan for affordable, secure, and high quality water and sewerage services.Similarly, 30 year plan for Queensland’s electricity sector.

The reform of Queensland Health. This doesn’t just include fixing the payroll system butlooks deeper into restructuring and reforming the whole department. According to thebudget papers, on average it costs Queensland 11% more to deliver public hospital services compared to the Australian average. The government is committed to improving this.

The government is also focussed on devolving power to local communities through localgovernment reforms and through the Hospital and Health Services (HHSs).

Changing laws that have held back development in the state of Queensland in both propertyand mining; and

The logical reform of government, as a whole, to make it more efficient and customer focussed.

This is by no means an exhaustive list, just a few of the notable policy focuses of the government. Commonly, history shows that governments learn their lessons. History also shows that governments that experience trouble early on can become stable and successful and govern well over a long period of time.

At the core, the Government is doing some very good work. They are not sitting on their hands. They are not making claims but never implementing policies. They are not wasting time or “taking it easy”. They are proactively implementing important changes and reforms and we should not forget that.

Queenslanders will forgive and forget early dramas providing the new government Can Do the reforms it promised.

The author Gerard Paynter is director at Barton Deakin Queensland, and is a known lobbyist on behalf of the Liberal National Party in Queensland.